Bus2Antarctica: Argentina Pizzeria

ByAndrew Evans
February 17, 2010
3 min read

We continue with our blog recaps of Andrew Evans’ journey to Antarctica. In today’s dispatch, Andrew challenges you not to salivate after watching this video.

Travel makes me hungry. After a month of riding buses I’ve learned to pack light and eat light while en route. But after 30 or 40 hours on the road, I’m ready for a square meal.

Upon arriving in Argentina’s second city of Cordoba, I found the smells on the street too tempting to pass up and headed out in search of lunch. What was it about this city? Food was everywhere–good food. As I walked along each block, I found myself increasingly indecisive about where I would stop. There were Parisian-like cafés, swanky bakeries, quaint pizzerias, and roomy diners where men in white shirts dished out oversized lomitos (huge sandwiches heaped with steak, ham, cheese, fried eggs, melted butter and a pile of hot fries).

I had a lot of options too chose from so I went with the lomito for lunch and then went hunting for pizza that night. My cousin who used to live in Argentina had sent me a message insisting that I try the local Fugazza pizza. And so I did. Among Argentina’s many immigrants were several waves of Italians who carried their culture with them and made a pronounced contribution to Argentina’s culinary tradition. As I drove across La Pampa, Italian surnames dominated the farms in the area and parts of Cordoba had a very strong Italian vibe.

Wandering around the city at night, I discovered La Pizzeria San Luis, claiming to be la auténtica–the authentic. Since “authentic” is our code word at National Geographic Traveler, I just had to go in. Sure enough, this place was authentic–from the thick, soft-crusted pizza to the wood-paneled refrigerator dating back to 1950 (made in Cordoba).

After about five seconds inside, I realized this particular pizzeria was too great to miss and so I ran back to my hotel for my video camera. Luckily, none of these guys was camera shy. I ordered my delicious Fugazza–dripping with caramelized onions, cream sauce and mozzarella cheese–and then ate it with great delight. Hopefully this clip gives you a general idea of just how fabulous it all ways. My only regret is that I can’t pass on the mouthwatering smell of the place–the smell of fire, yeast, garlic, and satisfaction.

Andrew Evans has reached Antarctica, and is tweeting about his travels aboard the National Geographic Explorer at @Bus2Antarctica. Want more? Follow the map of his journey, bookmark all of his blog posts, watch videos, and get the full story on the project here. Video by Andrew Evans.

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